Ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow in December, India has asked Russia to allow IAF test pilots to fly its fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) to evaluate its capabilities.
“Flight-testing will help decide the way forward on the collaboration between the two countries on the FGFA. All options, ranging from an off-the-shelf purchase of 60-65 jets to joint production, are on the table,” said a top defence ministry official on Friday.
The fact that India needs an FGFA, which combines stealth, super-cruise capability, super-maneuverability, data fusion and multi-sensor integration on a single fighter, in the years ahead cannot be disputed.
For a country that is yet to even make its first indige- IAF down to 34 squadrons (includes 14 squadrons of obsolete MiG-21s & MiG-27s)
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